Runaway
by BadWeather Girl
Summary: She's a runaway. The runaway. He's a commander. The Commander Shepard. When John Shepard meets a strange girl with no proper past, he forgot one thing, just because she's a runaway doesn't mean she isn't a liar. And in this life lying is a virtue.
1. Chapter 1 Introduction

**First proper fanfic, don't judge me and please ignore any spelling/grammer mistakes that may have been made, I do not have a beta reader at the moment, and hope to look for one soon.**

"What are you doing here?" Eric said.

He was startled and jumped up from his chair, looking at the man entering the cool steel laboratory with troop of seven men. They started searching the room, tuning over chairs, looking in and out of closets and draws. Eric recognised the man who leaded the troop. It was Three a man at the age of twenty-three dark brown hair grey eyes very handsome and in a very advanced military only few people knew him and they had to have clearance!

"I am looking for her?" Three said.

"Who is her?" Eric asked as calmly as he could. How dare these men come in and disturb his work!

"I'm looking for the runaway. I know you are harbouring her, tell me where is she Eric?" Three was a impatient man, one who was almost as dangerous as Ceberus was.

"I am an old man, nothing more Three and besides, I cannot tell you unless you give me a name and identification," Eric retorted but Three stayed there, just looking at him with a cold look on his face.

"She doesn't have a name or a home as for ID. The best I can give you is a description a thin slender brunette with long hair that goes down her back, pretty gold eyes about 186cm tall but beside that I know you are harbouring her Eric. She is dangerous, all your acting hasn't helped you at all! We know that she is posing as one of your assistants please old friend, don't do this, don't be a fool!" Three snapped at him.

"How is she dangerous! She is just young girl," Eric said. Dangerous how in the entire universe is that girl dangerous? Eric was outraged.

"She escaped from a Proteus training facility that was designed to keep her from getting out until she was fully trained to be a agent and if you don't believe me I have proof' Three held up a chip and inserted it into the nearest computer it showed a hazy picture of a girl sleeping on a bed looking comfortable

"Not exactly the best picture" Three heard Eric mutter.

"Pay attention old man. This is where you really want to pay attention to her" Three said.


	2. Chapter 2 Her past

**She woke, it's the same dream nearly every night. A planet happy and warm, people laughing, but all there faces blurred and talking fast. She barely caught any of the conversations, a women in robes. An Assari she identified tapped her on the shoulder, always the same question 'What's your name?' **

**Funny enough, that she was taught how to speak and read different languages, fight with anything that could be used as a weapon, taught how to act to make her blend in and survive harsh and extreme conditions but never given a name of her own. Not even Maia who was the computer system or an AI, who did her training and watched over her cautiously throughout the facility, (which was huge! But she had explored every inch available to her) was making sure she knew nothing of the world outside. **

**Until recently Maia had not seen how lonely she was and built a floating robot, that looks like a crone sphere wires twined around it with a golden light in the middle of the sphere by its personality was that of a moran, Maia told her it was a male VI, not an AI but just a little bit more different.**

**He was made to accompany her everywhere. From the training rooms into the kitchen, (not that she cooked because Maia worked everything, even though she knew how from survival training) even to the bedroom where she slept. She named him Hob but she was not lonely she was tired of doing these exercises she wanted to be free. **

**She was no longer a child she was nineteen tomorrow. And she was going to be free. She got up and touched the necklace around her neck it was her ID tags they were empty just hanging there for no reason probably to remind her she could never have a proper life. **

**She changed ****into a white tank top and black jumpsuit but had the top of her Jumpsuit tied around her waist, revealing her white tank top, it helped her breathe and shoot a person easier.**

**'Good morning Mistress. How may I be of assistance today?' Hob said in a high pitched voice that signalled he was a moron.**

**'Can you get me my silver jacket from the cupboard, the one above the kitchen stove' She asked. **

**'Much obliged Mistress' he replied floating out the door towards the kitchen.**

**She spoke to Hob privately about getting out he agreed that if she wanted to go he would go with her only there was one problem: Maia. She would have to shut down Maia to get out, that was the hard part because she had no idea how. **

**Lucky though, Hob knew he explained to that they would have to get to the main generating data system, plug himself in and Maia's system would simply turn the power off, then she would be able to leave. Hob came back in with her jacket bobbling above his head.**

**'Are you ready for today's activates, Hob?' She asked. **

**'Yes mistress I had your bag ready, it is on the chair by the bench in the kitchen' He answered.**

**But she knew that he packed her survival kit, along with water, food, a few repairing tools for Hob, two spare pairs of clothes, (she had only four sets of clothes, all up) three loaded guns, a blank ID passport for travelling on ships and a few other essentials that she would probably need. Even money was included into her bag, lots of it.**

**S****he walked opened the door picked up her pack and headed to the training rooms up, through one of the elevators in the facility.**

**'Hob, please can you do the job I asked when I reach level three in the training rooms and take my bag please?' She asked. **

**'Yes mistress, than when you finish where can I meet you?' Hob piped up, he sure does like questions. **

**'By the exit of the vent shaft, just outside the indoor garden' she said the elevator opened.**

**She walked out and chose her weapons, level one very easily she chose a knife and a pistol for shooting and stabbing the holographic targets, she went into level one starting point all of the levels were complex mazes formed to have you be prepared for the worst or impossible. She relaxed, level one was very easy to complete from her standards, she did it very fast and level two wasn't hard even with the atomic security lasers going. When she reached level three, she breathed, **

**"Only a bit longer" she thought. "Then I am leaving here for good and never coming back to this ever!" **

**'Good morning, I hope you enjoy your nineteenth birthday' a voice from the systems said. **

**'Good morning to you to Maia' she called back.**

**'I have a surprise for you' as Maia said it, the happy birthday song came on and confetti flew from vents. She glared at the camera's in which Maia could see her from. ****'Did you think your surprise was you parents? They abandoned you years ago at this very facility when you were five months old' Maia said smartly**

**'Well Maia, no more time I am going to waste here I am leaving, your being shut down even as we speak' she retaliated.**

**'That is impossible' Maia said.**

**But even as Maia said those words her systems went off along with most of the lights, she knew her way out by climbing the walls and ducking under obstacles. With Maia out of the way, she had to hurry to find Hob who arrived at the vent shaft way later than he should have **

**'Hob you are late, but that is ok, how do we get out?' she puffed from having to climb over the maze walls and dodging the cameras.**

**'From the shaft, there is a vent it is a little small but I think you could manage if you bend over a bit mistress,' He told her.**

**She bended down and pulled the gate of the shaft entrance and started to crawl through the vent trying to be quiet as possible****. When she approached the outside of the facility, what she saw wanted to make her scream.**

**She gasped this was the outside it was worse than she imagined there was five buildings they were the exactly the same as the facility but worse it was dark there were guards everywhere on the walls were giant flashlights, "how I am going escape from this? It's is going to be hard" she thought.**

**'Have you got that my pack Hob?' she whispered behind her back. **

**'No, but we certainly got you' someone's voice who she did not recognise. **

**She turned around it was a man with a gun in a red uniform, she recognised his as a guard from one of the descriptions in her self-defence classes. Around the age in his mid-thirties she guessed. Before he could yell out for help or assistance she slapped his face then kicked him in the stomach he grunted sorely. He was going to shot her but he fell to the ground, Hob had weakly electrocuted him unconscious. **

**'Let's go Hob, I want to get out of here before it becomes light and avoid these men' She said quietly. **

**That very night the night before her nineteenth was when she finally became free and was no longer a Demon. **


	3. Chapter 3 Family

Chell, she went by Chell now. Short for Chellina but she didn't care, just anything to get away from the Proteus facility. Where would she go? She didn't have a clue where anything was, true she had studied starmaps, but they were only useful if she knew where she was.

Lucky after escaping the facility. Which after many hours of travelling on foot she found was in the middle of the dessert, she managed to come across a small city which had rides off the planet. She chose to go to Earth at first. May as well since she didn't have anywhere else to, but she met Dr Harson. Eric, she reminded herself and he offered her a job as a assistant with the Allience.

She took it and instead of Earth they went to the citidel and worked there. Secretly she bought a omni-tool claiming she broke her previous one, even though she didn't have one before. Thanks to her training though she mastered using it in under a matter of days, that was a luxery she had where others didn't.

After looking at her appearance she placed in contacts which made her eyes a silver color which she liked instead of gold, and had decided to cut her hair to go a bit aboce her elbows instead of it being past her thighs.

She entered the apartment and smiled placing down the groceries and humming. She headed into the kitchen and started cooking cutting up vegetables. This was her daily routine now, she no longer trained practised any type of self-defense and was all around happy. Chell heard a gun click, oh shit...!

She turned to face the handler. "Three pleasure to see you" she snapped. Three was the guard she took out when leaving the facility, she smiled to herself as she saw the scar on his face from where she scratched him.

"Your accident on the outside the facility was unfortuate however that was before we found out who you were, did you honestly think you could have a normal life?" He said coldly.

"Where is Harson?" she asked.

"Safe for now" he responded. Chell gripped the knife even tighter, safe yeah right like she was going to fall for that by another Proteus agent.

"So he's dead" she spat.

"In other words yes" he responded with a smirk. "Activate your powers now" he said.

"What powers?" She questioned.

"The abilities that they trained you for" Three continued. He sickly smirked at her. "After all that's all you were an expiriment" her blood boiled in rage.

"You sick bastard" she spat throwing the knife, it landed in his shoulders, Three hunched against the wall and Chell took it has her chance to run. She quickly sprinted outside down the hall and the stairs. Chell skipped a few just trying to get out of the building, she ran past the doorman who gave her a quick nod and startled look.

Chell called over her shoulder. "Harson wanted to get something from a shop and I'm late for it" she lied quickly blending into the crowd.

She needed somewhere to hide. Chell bit her lip, come on think, think Chelly! She was fustrated and didn't have anywhere to go, not without Three most likely going to follow her. Chell wouldn't kill him, she was better than that. Better than him. She ran down into the refugee zone, hiding among the creates. She didn't want to be found and hid.

A hand covered her mouth. "Want to hide?" a voice of a young man asked Chell. She turned to face a year or so older than her, "Who are you?" she whispered. He had black hair in a crew cut image and piercing blue eyes, other than that he was extremely fit.

"Alex Shepard" he shook her hend.

"Chell" she said shaking back, crouching even lower as the guards went past.

"You need a place to hide?" He asked. Chell sensed she could trust him, he had a certain...thing around him lettting her know that he would help her in anything that might have passed her way.

"Anywhere to get away from here" She answered.

"Why you running?" Alex asked.

"Some man tried to kidnap me, no clue who he is" Chell said. They waited twenty minutes keeping quiet as possible as they could, trying so hard not to move.

"Are you sure your parents won't mind?" she asked.

"Come on, mum won't mind and dad's away" He said. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Seventeen, how old are you?" Chell asked lying to him. Two years off and she could pass for sixteen if she needed to.

"Eighteen next week" he said. So he was younger than her, she thought.

He pulled her up and they walked along the streets normally before slinking into the apartments of the Allience. Inside was a well decorated and modernly suited house.

"Mum, mum you home?" He called. A woman with short blonde hair and pretty blue eyes and welcoming smile came in. "Hey mum I bought a friend along home" Alex said.

"Nice to meet you Mrs Shepard" Chell smiled at the woman.

"Hello dear, please I'm Hannah. Mrs makes me feel so old" Hannah greeted her.

"Chell I don't have a last name" She responded.

Chell was sat down in the lounge, Alex sat next to her and began to question her, because frankly she was imteresting and unknown to him. Hannah cooked dinner for them, they sat down and ate in a peaceful meal. Chell explained that she had served as a scienctist assisstant for work expirience and had been forced to resign, due to Harson being threatened that if she didn't leave his labs they would kill him, then added that the threatener was a person who was jelous of Harson's work. Hannah and Alex brought the story so she was safe from any furthur questions.

"Mum can Chell stay here for a while?" Alex asked while .

"Sure she can have the spare room, will you're parents mind?" Hannah asked Chell.

Chell sighed. "My parents died I'm an orphan" Chell said.

"Oh... I'm so sorry" Hannah sympathsized.

"It's okay, it happened when I was little, so I don't remember much" Chell shrugged hesitantly. They finished and Chell and Alex sat up in the lounge talking about the Allience. That was before Hannah sent them straight off to bed.

Hannah sat up drinking some coffee and in deep thought, Chell looked like she was frightened to go home, and she was doing brilliantly with Alex, poor girl though an orphan at a young age.

Hannah sipped her coffee and a plan formulated in her mind. Adophtion? The child would need it but, even a year off from legal age, Hannnah called her husband off her omni-tool and called her husband who agreed with him.

Hannah got off the couch and headed into the spare room, Chell was sitting up in bed, hugging her legs to her chest. in a spare white top that was many sizes too big for her and fitted like a nightgown. Chell was looking out the window in which she could see the nightlife of the Citidel.

Chell looked at Hannah with her eyes piercing at her gently. "I'm sorry I'm being such a bother" Chell said.

"You could never be dear, the Citidel is very beautiful. I have something to ask you that may seem suden" Hannah gently sat on the bed next to her. Chell looked at the window again.

"Okay what?" She asked.

"Your family died and you've been threatened, that's enough by law to make you able to go into witness protection. But instead of changing your first and only name why don't you change your last name to Shepard. And become adophted by us?" She asked.

Chell smiled and hugged her which shocked Hannah on how strong the girl was. "I'd love to" Chell thanked her.

"Well come on get some sleep, we'll celebrate in the morning" Hannah said kissing her forehead of her new daughter.

Alex met her outside and looked at Hannah, "Mum what were you doing in Chell's room?" He asked.

"Just talking by the way don't forget to let Chell chose the restruant for breakfast tommorow after all she has good taste being you new sister Alex," Hannah said leaving Alex's jaw dropped.


	4. Chapter 4 dedication to her

_In memory of my big twin sister Amelia Rose, who died at birth but still looks over me seventeen years later as my guardian angel, protected me from being lonely when no one was around and managed to smile at the camera before passing away._

_Rest in peace big sister._

Alex Shepard waited for the Normandy to dock. He was getting impatient and really wanted to get to the Presidium Coloums. His sister was there on shore leave. Two years since he last saw her face to face and his missed Chellina like hell.

"Hurry up Joker" he asked the pilot of the Normandy.

"Jeeze Commander anyone would think that you were in a rush" Joker true to his name said.

"I am, someone on the Citidel is waiting for me"

"How long?" Joker asked a bit interested.

"Two years and counting" Shepard nearly growled.

When he became a commando soldier in the trenchs, his sister Chell chose to serve as a scout soldier, basically she ran ahead on missions and battlefields taking out what she could before the heavy soldiers came in. For some reason she was unusually fast at running and very fit, he never figured it out but enjoyed talking to her, and she did him by keeping contact with him.

"Well wonder what took you so long to catch up with him" Ashley Williams, the gunnery sargent said entering the cockpit.

"Her" he corrected her.

"What?" Joker and Ashley asked.

"I am seeing a her" he repeated.

Alex was nearly jumping out of his skin when they entered the docks, he looked around hoping. Alex saw familiar silver eyes and brown raven colored hair of Chelly. Wait she said she'd meet him at the Presiduim, what was she doing here?

"Alex!" She ran up to him. Alex picked up his sister into a hug and spun her around once before she started laughing. "Alex! Alexander John Shepard put me down!"

He famously responded by saying. "Only if you runaway from this place and join me on the Normandy ASAP!" he teased her a lot about the amount of times she actually turned down working on the Normandy with him.

Such was life, and his sister.

True she was adophted but that never bothered the two, they acted more like siblings than the krogan not being war thirsty! Chell smiled at him.

"I know I promised Presidium but I thought may as well drop off my package and meet you here at the same time" she smirked.

"Package?" he asked.

"Anderson asked me to drop off a huge create fast so I did" she shrugged as he took her into the elevator and pressed the button for Presidium. "So what have you been up to?" She asked.

"Oh you know finding geth and stopping them, saving the universe, trying to meet my so busy sister" he snapped her smirk of her face.

"Look I'm sorry I couldn't get home for Christmas something came up, I would have come but...I was busy" she apologised. In truth, Chell was looking for answers to the Proteus program when she finally had he guts to look for her imprisoners. When she found some it lead down so many paths it took her a while just to find where to go next.

"Hey you did your best, getting there three days later. After I was gone," he led them into Apollo Cafe and chose a seat overlooking the whole Presidium.

"So what do you want to eat?" She asked. "Because I'm buying" Chell added.

Alex looked at the menu. "Hmm...Asari homeplanetary known wine with salad or Chicken parmasania?" he asked at Chell who had a strict thing with food. She could only eat certain types because a lot of food made her feel sick, and yet no matter how much she ate she never gained weight, then again he'd never seen her workout in the gym before either.

"Chicken parma" she placed down her menu agreeing with him on the meal.

The waitress came over and took their meal, giving flirty looks at Alex which nearly made Chell pretend she was having a heart attack. Alex laughed at her but scoulded later, saying it was rude to fake medical emergancies and she responded by saying it was rude to have your brother hit on when you want to eat lunch with him.

"So tell me about the Normandy? I hear you have a pilot who claims he's the best pilot in the Allience" Chell leaned her head on one of her arms. She played with a bit of her now raven hair, it had gone darker than the normal brown it had once been.

"Tell me why you keep turning down my offer," Alex responded with a challenging voice.

"Like you need a scout onboard" Chell answered sarcastically.

"I do actually which is why I've asked you" Alex responded.

"If I said yes, I'd have to only go by Chell, both being called by our last name would confuse everyone" Chell shrugged as their meal arrived.

"Fine then Lt Chell. I'll see you aboard the Normandy tommorow" Alex said smiling at her.

"Sure ok...wait what?" Chell looked up at him not beleiving she just agreed to.

"Look I need a scout and your the only one I know that gets the job done and doesn't burn out fast or use biotics" Alex informed her.

"Do I get a proper sniper riffle? The Mantis I've been using ain't that good for recon work" She leaned back in her chair.

"Uhh...we have a weapons station?" He unconvincingly said.

"You are one of the most famous commander's in the fleet and yet you know nothing on the beauty of sniping off enemies" Chell teased him.

"Hey I fight close up, not from far" He teased.

Chell laughed, but was interrupted by a ringtone from Alex's omni-tool. He pulled up a chat screen and came face to face with..

"What is it Alenko?" He asked.

"Anderson wants you and somone called Chell, he said they'd be with you" Kaiden reported.

"We'll be right there" Alex answered.

"What did he want?" Chell asked curiously raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know but I think someone's in trouble because he wanted you to" Alex smirked.

Chell dropped her fork. "I swear that whatever it was I was only nintyfive percent involved, the rest wasn't me" she said quickly.


	5. Chapter 5 You sure?

"Ninteyfive percent involved huh?" Alex teased her as they entered the citidel Embassies.

"Like I said the rest, wasn't me" She said back to him as they climbed down the steps.

She started hugging herself and Alex noticed goosebumps. Was she always cold on the Citidel? From what he knew on Chelly's life before adophtion, she was raised on a desert planet. After he asked which colony, she walked out of the room and didn't talk.

"Here take this" he said slipping off his Allience military jacket and placing to over her shoulders, Chell smiled as he pulled her into a hug as they walked.

"Thanks a lot warmer now, better at the Presidium, which is why I avoid wearing tanktops near the Embassies" she explained letting her brown raven hair out so it framed her face.

They walked into the office talking to each other when Anderson looked up from his desk, three others were in the room, three from Alex's crew on the Normandy. Chell had kind of and purposly hacked the Allience network to find where her brother worked, and despite the systems from the VI's, hadn't locked her out. Ashley Williams the gunnery sargant, Garrus a tuturian and whom she guessed was L.T Kaiden Alenko, biotic poster boy.

Anderson dismissed the three crewmates to wait outside while he dealt with the Shepards. No doubt this was going to be harder for Chell than Alex, even if he couldn't accept what Anderson had been told over a few hours ago, and what Chell had meant to be for...it was sick. He didn't know how anyone could have done that to a child.

"..So the bartender says 'Oi mate, sorry your brother died' and the man goes 'No he didn't die I just gave up drinking" Chell finished her joke causing her brother to laugh. She liked it, it was comforting when she was sad and alone.

Anderson cleared his throat and the two stopped, Alex saluted and Chell just laughed at him. Anderson nodded at him to go at ease and turned to Chell. Who by whatever standards, to those in the room, hadn't saluted but offered to shake hands with him instead.

"Still fighting off the 'I will never be opressed to follow you' bullshit Chellina?" He asked.

"When has anything stopped me Anderson?" she asked.

Alex gave her a wierd look and Chell explained. "When I was training to scout Anderson comes in and challenges us all to a sniping contest, oh and for the record I won" She added the last bit to Anderson's enjoyment.

"I swear I didn't take your clip of ammo Chellina" He said defensivly.

"No they just magically happened to end up inside you gun, and it ended with me beating the targets to death and you spraying bullets at nothing" Chell crossed her arms in victory.

Alex gave her a look saying 'Tell me the full story later' at her.

"So why did you need us both anyway? I was enjoying a nice lunch that didn't involve running up and down a battlefield for people, who are always screaming at me" Chell asked half joking.

"Chell, this is kind of a stretch with your CO, but it's been worked out. You are to be assigned to the Normandy SR-1 immediantly" Anderson answered,

"That may be a bit hard" Alex said hesitantly.

"Why?" They both asked him.

"Because I asked her previously" Alex said.

Anderson gave her a look. "You turned it down again" he assumed.

Chell bowed her head. "Unfortunately not for my big brother, he was nearly on his knee's so I took some pity on the guy" she answered.

Anderson rolled his eyes at her, "You are so full of bullshit, sometimes Chellina I worry, I really do, anyway I wasn't the one who requested the transfer and neither was Shepard"

"Which one?" Chell asked confused.

"Which what?" Anderson asked

"Which Shepard? The whole family happens to be in the military, so yeah which one?" Chell asked again, clearing up the question.

"Your brother" He answered.

Alex rolled his eyes at Chell and she turned to him, giving him a look that said 'Tell me later or else!'.

Out of the two she was more scarier than him despite being the lone survivour of Akuze. Chell remembered when he first got back, he just looked at her and his eyes were empty, she requested time off work which was given because she claimed she was sick and a scout had to be in fit condition, othewise no battlefield. He was empty for a few weeks and Chell did her best, she talked to him and hugged Alex when he needed it with sisterly love.

The first thing he said to her since he got back was, _"Next time we shouldn't wait for hope we should have miracles, which we can create on our own with luck," _

Chell never got it though, and that's when memories of the facility came back. Because her brother was empty, a prisoner to his own mind. It reminded her of when she was a prisoner to the facility...and to Maia.

"Then who did?" Chell asked raising an eybrow.

The door opened and a man with a cut across his cheek entered wearing Allience uniform. Chell recognised him. NO! No way was he here! She immediantly and gently but hardly pushed Alex behind her, giving him a wierd look on his face. She honestly didn't care, this man was a problem she really needed to take care of permanently.

The man smirked when he saw her, "Same old Five, the scout... Really you were a waste on the Illusive man's money" He said.

Alex looked at Chell, "What the fuck is going on Chell? Chelly, tell me now?" he demanded.

"Oh she got a name as well. Chell, that is very cute" The man teased.

Chell went tease and looked at Alex. "I am really sorry. Please forgive me" She said to him whispering from being terrified. How the hell had he even got onto the Citidel in the first place? Weren't there guards everywhere?

"I think that's asking too much Five. How could he forgive a murderer like you" The man kept going, Anderson quietly slid back to call security, but the man noticed and pulled out a gun shooting him in the shoulder. "Consider that payback for mine Chell" He spat at Chell, who was still tense with fear for her brother.

"Hello Three" She eventually said. "I want to be forgiven"


	6. Chapter 6 Rememberance

The Illusive man watched his copy of the footage taken inside the embassies where Agent Three, had tried to take down that thing. He sent him to deactivate the girl not kill her, it, he reminded himself that thing was an it, and a mistake.

She pushed the older Shepard behind her, Anderson took the gunshot wound and Three held them at gunpoint, bad mistake he would pay for later on.

What he didn't understand was how this thing...was supposed to replace her, it was too different, so different that it was the same. Maybe he'd been the one that had changed. Never! Changing wasn't an option but after losing her to the Krogan...he didn't know.

The Illusive man lit another cigar, a habit he got into that she always hated. He stopped for her, because he loved her. But after she died there was nothing to stay and stop him from taking it up. Illusive he was, but not to her, she always saw through him. Jayde was always the one to know.

Sighing he bought up the photo of Jayde. Him and a young woman in an orchid with golden eyes that wasn't wearing silver contacts, long brown hair a shade of raven resting in it and flowers among the strands, she had her arms wrapped around his neck as he sat down on a rug while they faced the camera. She was grinning in that photo, always grinning.

This used to have the be the easy way out, now he thought it was the hardest, which is why he locked that thing up in the middle of a washed out Alliance planet in the middle of the desert. It was easier because he tried to replace Jayde. Make a another feel, touch, think, act, feel like her but in the end it wasn't her, he could never get her right.

Making her stronger, smarter, hell even more beautiful just to get her right failed. He failed her, and he always would have done had she have lived.

He saw 'Chell' disable Three, kicked the gun out of his hand, twist his arm behind his back and kick behind the shins lowering him to the ground in record speed. Smart girl, pretty girl, dancing in the rain...he hummed the tune before stopping realising what he was doing.

The Illusive man sighed again, before sending out orders, "Agent Three return, leave subject alone" He ordered.

If he wanted a new Jayde, he'd do it on his own, just to please her and maybe her memory wouldn't haunt him tonight.

* * *

Three knocked Chell against a wall, she stepped up unfazed as he swung her a blind jab which she deflected easily, Alex looked at the two gracefully fighting while he checked Anderson and yelling for help. Chell seemed to have it going good. Where had she learnt this? He'd have to ask later, otherwise he was going to kill her for not telling him what was going on.

Chell commando rolled to behind the desk for cover, with the gun she fired at him shooting his leg. Three relatiated by flipping the desk on top of Chell who dived out of the way in time. Enough playing, time to finish this.

Three received a message, "Return, leave the subject alone" Three was ordered. Chell went to chase him to the ground but what he did stopped her, while Alex was in the room Three had a gain on her with hostages.

Three smashed the office window and jumped out running away, Chell went to the window and looked out following him with her gaze, "Please forgive me Three" she whispered.

Chell turned away, facing Alex who looked at her demanding an explanation. Chell kneeled down next to him using his jacket and making a makeshift bandage for the shoulder. "Guess I have some explaining to do" she said.

"Start from the beginning. Now Chell" he said.

Chell opened her mouth beginning something he wouldn't have found possible if he wasn't spectre Commander Shepard.

She went on to how she was raised, doing the exercises day after day after day, escaping the facility, meeting Harson before he went missing, Three and attacking his shoulder, all the way up to meeting Alex.

"How does Three come into this?" He asked.

Chell breathed in, "He was the warden in charge of Maia the rouge AI, he lost me and kept hunting never giving up. Before leaving the desert planet I caused as much trouble for him as I could" she explained why the man hated her.

"In the end I was just another monster and weapon, and I was scared to tell you because I couldn't lose you to them Alex" she cried, Anderson lost enough blood to be unconscious but not badly injured, he couldn't hear them. "When I went to find answers...they had none and I haven't given up" She bowed her head in awkward silence.

"It's not the Shepard way" he said lightly. Chell raised her head.

"Wh...What?" She quivered.

He was accepting this? How the hell could anyone accept this, let alone from her? Chell thought it was going to be way harder to earn his acceptance.

"It's not our way, Chell those bastards may have raised you but your still my sister and I will kill everyone of them to find out why they did that to you. We are going to find answers" he promised her.

"I'll hold you to that" she said.

"Your a plain bitch" Anderson mumbled, "Why wouldn't he hold you to that?" he added grazily.

Chell hugged him tight, that the fact he had accepted that easily amazed her. He accepted her and that's all she needed. The door burst open and Kaiden came in with a pistol, he looked at the mess, to the flipped desk, the broken window and gun shots everywhere, along with the paper and reports scattered across the room. Then at the Shepards and Anderson, who were trying best not to look guilty.

"What did I miss?" He asked.

"Whatever it was I was only ninetyfive percent responsible. The rest wasn't me" Chell said quickly.

"Is that what you always say?" Alex asked her.

"Why? Does it matter?" She asked shrugging at him, while help Anderson up.

"Okay seriously, what did I miss?" Kaiden asked again.


	7. Chapter 7 Welcome aboard

**A/N Thanks for reading this story so far. If you want any flamers please send in a message and remember to read and review if you want me to continue this story thanks R&R everyone and merry christmas**

Chell swung her backpack over her shoulder and locked up her small military apartment. She was usually off duty for weeks on end if she wasn't needed somewhere so she decided to buy a house to call her own. Scouts were needed everywhere these days so she was surprised no one else requested her yet.

She wore alliance uniform but kept the jacket open to revel her grey tank top, also having the sleeves rolled up and wore her hair down so it went down her back

She went out the door and ran into a broad-shouldered man. "Sorry" she apologised.

"Watch where your going next time" was all he said rudely before going into a different room. She shook her head and checked her ID that Alex had given her, it had changed from Chellina Shepard to Chellina Ramiraz for when she was aboard the Normandy. Just another lie she could deal with, sometimes she actually believed that they were beating her now.

Chell quickly made her way down to the shuttlebay and waited, no news on Three yet, she was getting impatient and felt that he was going to find her again. What had she done to deserve this?

Her memories below five were worse than before, and the asari she kept seeing in her dreams wasn't helping at all, the asari was screaming at her to remember who she was and when she woke up she was covered in cold sweat and tears, she'd been crying in her sleep to dead voices. Ones she didn't know who they belonged to, in fact she had stopped sleeping just to escape the voices.

Chell entered the elevator and opened the door to the Normandy. Alex greeted her and she saluted. "You've never been formal a day in your life why now?" he quizzed her.

"Unlike most of my former CO's, you're the only one who knows where I live and what I eat so forgive me if I am a bit scared" She joked.

"Come on you have to meet a few people" Alex waved her up to the front of the Normandy where the pilot was sitting. He wore a baseball cap and had a well-kept beard that made her nearly laugh. "Joker this is our new scout Chell, Chell this is Joker"

"Commander, Ma'am" Chell looked at Alex who raised an eyebrow at Joker, not the smart mouth pilot she heard about. "Ah Joker, why are you calling her ma'am?" Alex asked.

"I thought she was a high-ranking officer? Other than the fact she's your sister and you'd kill anyone who decided to go out with her" Joker smirked at himself.

"And if he did that I'd kill him" Chell placed a hand on her hip to exaggerate the point. Alex just shook his head and left telling Chell to meet him back near the starmap.

"So can I call you Chelly? More of a nickname despite being longer" Joker mocked with the Commander no longer being there.

"Chell is the short version and nickname of my name," Chell responded.

"Oh and what's your full name then?" he asked.

"Easy it's Chellina," She shrugged. "Why do they call you Joker?" she asked,

"Cause I used to be a clown who could make anyone laugh." He said, completely deadpan. She raised her eyebrows, and he faced. "Look, one of my instructors at flight school said I never smiled, and that I worked too hard. The name stuck, I guess. How about you?" He finished the story and returned to the controls.

"I got Chellina because...I chose it" She crossed her arms.

"How does that even work?" Joker turned to face her once again. "Didn't your parents choose for you?" he asked.

"Didn't have any until I met Alex, I was an orphan and got adopted by his mother, _our_ mother" she corrected herself.

"So your his little sister?"

"Well technically the people who I was originally raised with told me I was two years older than what I was and I thought I was nineteen when I met Alex, but I told him I was seventeen. Didn't know who he was then so I wasn't going to tell him my age. Then we got a scan to see if the adoption was legal and I could be in the first place, turns out my lie was actually the truth I was two years younger than I thought" She smiled being confusing. One of her many habits she liked.

"And this means...?" Joker tried putting it together.

"Yeah I'm his little sister" She simplified,

"Chelly! Come down here now!" Alex could be heard.

Chell just shook her head and smiled. She went down into the CIC area "How many times don't call me Chelly- uh hi?" She said to Alex and the people he was with.

"Chell-" he corrected himself "Ramiraz this is Lt Kaiden Alenko, Ashley Williams, Garrus and Tali, they're part of the crew. Guys this is Chell Ramiraz the new scout"

A Qurian a Turian and two humans, didn't her brother mention an Asari at one stage as well? "Nice to meet you" She nodded shaking hands with them until she came across the Lt.

He looked into her silver eyes and recognition filled both of them. That was the guy from the hall who told her to watch her feet, oh god that was embarrassing! She thought of an excuse to save them both from embarrassment as her face started blushing. "I need to go get my back I left it with Joker. See you later Alex yeah?" she asked.

"Sure when you get time and have settled in" he said.

Chell nodded and went inside the cockpit and grabbed her bag before heading to crew quarters. "Comfy" she murmured to herself and grabbed a spare bunk that hadn't been claimed yet.

"Scout Ramiraz you are wanted on the war room" a voice sounded over the Normandy.

Chell jumped up a bit, "Maia!" She whispered. No! Please god no! Don't let that bitch be here.

"I am EDI, the ship's VI" the cool voice said again. Chell relaxed and breathed in deep. "You are wanted in the war room" she alerted once more.

Chell got up off the bunk and made her way down to the war room which looked really advanced compared to the other ship ones she had been in. Everyone was gathered around a scanner table that she had met before, "Sir, what's going on?" She saluted her brother.

"Your friend, the one we met before at the office hit again at an Alliance outpost," Alex said.

"Three!" She hissed. Chell came down and nodded at everyone to start, a planet came up that he had hit and showed images of what had been done.

"Yeah, it was...messy. Any clue why he decided to take down an Alliance outpost?" Alex asked. "Other than what we think"

"Bastard!" Chell added under her breath thinking he hadn't heard her. She leaned again the scanner and began fiddling with the controls.

"When I first met Three it was at here," Chell changed it to a different planet. "It was in the middle of a desert but his motives were clear, eliminate the target and bring back to a training facility" She pointed down to where she thought the desert was.

"What was the target?" Ashley asked.

"A human" Alex took over. "They were going to use the human as a super weapon, training them to kill and survive at any cost. They were creating the perfect soldier and weapon, one that could take out an entire army if they wanted it ordered" he pointed out what Chell had told him before.

"But what's the point of the human target then?" Garrus asked.

"The human was a test subject, they were planning on making more of them but this was just a test and it failed. They seem to be trying to get the subject back at any cost just to put them back. They however are failing"

"Who's 'they'?" Kaiden asked.

"I don't know, I've been chasing these guys for years and they still haven't been careless enough to let a name slip. The only thing I have on the facility is the word Proteus," Chell shrugged at them. They all kept eyes on her. "I ran a translation, Proteus means 'memory' in a language of a race that was extinct years ago. In greek however it means elusive sea change, and the facility is kept on a planet that is called Mutare which means in latin 'change' and it is in an elusive sea of desert. Anyone connecting the dots here?" Chell kept looking at the planet.

"And how do you know so much on this?" Kaiden asked suspiciously.

"Who do you think the subject was?" Chell glared at him. Kaiden backed down a bit worried now. "When the subject...when I was in the facility they raised me with an AI called Maia. She was insane and not in the good way," Chell half joked.

"How did you get here then?" Tali asked, "If it was an AI it could have and would have killed you"

Chell tightly smiled. "Maia was a lot of bad things. She knew how to tear me down physically and mentally. But she still cared for what I felt, I never talked to her unless I had to and she thought that I was lonely when I got older. That was her mistake, making me a VI that would only listen to what I asked and not her. Basically she made me a best friend out of computer programming and I used that to shut her down" Chell answered.

"Then how you got here?" Kaiden asked.

"Because I ran away" Chell responded.


	8. Chapter 8 Talk about it

**A/N: Hope everyone had a merry Christmas, here is the next chapter after figuring out where the story is going, hope to have a revelation from the Illusive man about Three in the net chapter. Please R&R and enjoy the holidays :)**

* * *

Chell sat on the observation lounge and watched the stars go by, she tapped her sketch pad while flickering through the art she had drawn. Yes the trained crazy supposed assassin woman had taken up art, she smirked. And Chell loved it, the pictures and feel of emotions made her happy.

She heard the door open and she turned to face whoever was there. "I carry a knife just so you know" she warned them not bothering to check who it was.

"Well that's going to stop me from sleeping" A voice said, the LT Alenko sat down next to her and handed her a coffee.

"How'd you know I was here?" She asked accepting it and drinking deeply. "You know how to make a proper coffee" she added smiling at the cup and sipping even more of the warm beverage.

"EDI, and thanks" he said.

"Right the ships 'VI' which is an AI" Chell smirked at his lost look.

"Okay who told you or how did you find out?" Kaiden asked.

"Uh if you didn't know or catch it in the debrief I was raised with an AI I said that over two hours ago and she is a bit of a blabber mouth" Chell answered taking another sip of her drink. "Seriously who taught you to make coffee? This is really good" She complimented.

"Uh mum did" he answered. "You don't have much more than water do you?" He asked.

Chell placed up her pad on the desk. "When at the facility, I grew up around certain foods. I knew how to cook I just never did, Maia did all that, and when I got out and tried different foods I found out that I can only eat certain things without throwing it back up. Coffee and any type of energy drink are treats to when my stomach can keep it down" She bowed her head in mocking shame.

"Right the facility," Kaiden mumbled.

"You want to know about it?" She asked.

He sighed and Chell wrapped her N7 jacket tighter to her, well Alex's one he gave her when he graduated the program but he had two spare ones and didn't need a third.

"I don't see how anyone could do that to a person? It's something Cerberus would do, but you said nothing about it being connected to them, it sounds like a fantasy that something could be that sick to be able to create that place" he answered.

"I didn't know better when in there either until I got out, I saw how sick it was," Chell started placing up her pencils and other things she used to draw with. Climbing off the couch she went over and placed the blankets she borrowed in a footlocker.

Kaiden grabbed her sketch pad and flicked through them. A turian and krogan in a poker game, an asari playing with a little child on a park bench and what surprised him most, Alex hugging her from behind and smiling with her. Shepard didn't smile a lot, not since Akuze and if he did it was small and rare, yet she knew how he smiled, like he did all the time for her.

"That's of me and my brother" Chell came back to the couch.

"Brother? That's Shepard" Kaiden said bluntly.

"Yes my brother" She insisted.

"Wait he's your brother, you have different last names!" He exclaimed.

"Security detail or something like that I have to go by a different last name" Chell smirked.

"Ash had you pinned down as his secret girlfriend, really pissed her off" Kaiden looked over her sketch and turned to another one.

"Oh you mean the lady he keeps asking for advice on how to ask out?" Chell blurted and Kaiden looked at her, Chell blushed deeply. "I didn't say that nor did I say he really likes her" she said.

"What's this?" he asked. It was the drawing of two curves one above the other and bending towards each other in a type of harmony sign.

"It's something I saw when hanging around as a lookout scout on Derilia in the Arcadia Nebula. I saw it on a man there who ran a food stand I used to go to for food, he had a daughter and she used to say when she grew up she wanted to have my eyes. The planet was in a raid later on and the guy who had the insignia on him died, I've looked after his little girl ever since" Chell smiled bitterly remembering.

"Hold on, how old is she?" Kaiden asked.

"I think she was five years old then so she's nine now her name is Aki" She told him.

"Being left alone like that for slavers? That must have been lonely, can't imagine what the feeling is like? Can you imagine that?" He asked

"Believe me I understand and can imagine lonely" Chell told him.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow at her "What would you know about it?" he asked.

"I didn't see another living person until I was nineteen or actually seventeen," she said. He looked at her oddly. "I was told I was two years older than I was and when I was younger I didn't exactly have time to count or celebrate parties. Too busy being shot at" Chell joked.

"You find what they did to you funny? That would have given me nightmares" he said.

"When Maia had me in the facility, I used to get bad dreams every night I went to sleep and I still get them now just worse," she explained.

* * *

The Illusive man continued to watch the vid of Jayde being hugged by him after he ran after her in a field when they were younger, he sighed and turned to Three, who was still looking at the screen of the pretty girl with strange gold eyes.

Once Three had been in a competition with the Illusive man for her affection, she chose the Illusive man because she thought he didn't love her, Three had been heartbroken when she said that she was staying with the Illusive man and not running away with him, she said she had been in love with him for years and he never loved her back.

Was that true?

After the Hyperion Project the two promised each other, no matter what happened to them or the...children, that they would always watch the other and keep them safe even if it meant dying for the other. "Why are you letting the copy go? She could remember Jayde's life..." Three demanded being cut of.

"Because _it_ isn't ready to accept what it is just yet, it needs time to remember and how to deal with the problem. Then when it comes down to the choice of letting it live or not, you may step in. Remember what I am paying you for, if you want to have a proper goodbye to Jayde that is" The Illusive man said coldly.

Three left and Illusive man turned to the screen ordering it to press play again. He heard her voice again _"Will you forget me if I runaway for you? Will you let our baby live a life free of destructive knowledge?"_


	9. Chapter 9 Memories or hallucinations

Chell went to the armoury and got her gear ready, she didn't have armour since that wasn't required for scouts but Alex made it quite clear he wouldn't let her run if she didn't have armour. She approached the terminal and typed up her order, she didn't have to use Alliance credits either because she was so heavily paid that she used her own.

She let her hair out and it went down her back, though she didn't take off the contacts. When Alex first saw her real eye color after they first met and not the grey contacts, he said they were beautiful and she said that they made her confusing. So she still wore the contacts because she felt accepted with grey ones and he approved of it because Chell was comfortable.

"Hm..let's see, I want the Kuwashii Visor, Kassa Fabrication Chestplate, N7 shoulder plates, Serrice Council guantlets and Rosenkov Materials for pants all in white as primary and secondary bases" she pressed in the order, her gear was being placed together and painted at the same time, Chell stood back and watched.

"Do scouts normally use that gear? Or even those colors?" someone behind her asked.

"Garrus, right?" she asked. The turian with many scars on his face. Chell respected the fact she was lucky had none there, though Alex had seen the arms, she hadn't exactly been proud but had shown him the ones on her back and stomach caused by Maia and Three hunting her and some of the others were from...a few unhappy people along the way, mostly in a bar.

"No they don't. I usually never wear armour, slows down the feet and gets you clumsy. And usually that results in falling on or off you ass covered in bruises that make you look as blue as an asari" She got a small laugh from him.

"And the colors? I thought scouts blended into their environment? Isn't that the job, they are paid for?" He asked all at once.

Chell smiled at him shaking her head. "First off, the gear generally depends on the person. Most guards look for the thing that blends in and sticks out the most on any terrain, I chose white because it helps blend into anything, literally!" She sat on top of a bench and the turian asked for an example.

"My instructor took us out to a forest purely green everywhere. He went off and we had to spot him and he had to find us, if we found him we won and got an hours extra sleep which was dearly needed! He found a group of boys and girls who decided to stay together and were wondering around, trying to pick up noises that sort of thing. He snuck up on them and was in orange armour which scared the hell out of them and he gave them advice 'stay to plain terrain colors that make you not the armour blend in" She wisely said pulling her legs up to her chest feeling comfortable.

"One problem if he was talking to them and not you, how did you know that? Did he find you?" Garrus asked.

Chell blushed a little, she finally answered. "I was in a tree above watching the whole thing, and the branch snapped I landed on the instructor and said 'found you' I was bloody lucky I didn't break his back or get dropped from the group" she shrugged and he laughed at her.

"Lt Ramirez your gear is ready" EDI said over the PA.

Chell nodded, "My cue to go" she said grabbing a box and shoving her gear into it before leaving. She heard Garrus mumble "Strange girl..." causing her to laugh.

She grabbed the box and headed to her bunk placing it under there and checking her stuff once more. Chell stood up but felt dizzy and nearly fell over,_ "But you promised me you'd stay the same, you promised me!" _Chell looked around no one else was iin the crew quaters at the moment_._

_ "Jayde, my name is Jayde. Nice to meet you this is Three, he's going to look after you" _Chell stopped, that was her voice? She clutched her head as it throbbed in pain.

_"I want her to be my child! Not hunted by him because I love someone else"_ It went again making her head feel like it was exploding.

"Stop! Pease stop!" She begged her head. "Leave me alone!"

_ "So she'll be like me in image wise and personality, except programmed to think she's human?" Even though she's alien? _Chell felt everything get dizzy as her head hit the floor, she blinked a little and kept trying to push herself up off the floor. So blurry and dizzy!

_"Does she have a name?" She need's a pretty name?" _Was the last thing she heard.

* * *

Tali entered the crew quarters looking for Garrus and saw Chell on the floor unconscious but looked like she was having a hell of a nightmare. Tali ran over "Keelah!" She swore under her breath. "EDI get Dr Chakwas down here fast!" She yelled.

"Dr Chakwas is on her way" EDI responded.

Chell bent her head a little and kept shaking and muttering. "Make them stop!" she screamed frightening Tali, this woman had only been on th ship for two days and was having bad dreams! What was she going to be like after a month?

Dr Chakwas entered th room and rushed to Tali's side, they carried Chell down to the medical bay. Chell was extremely light for her age probably the eating habit Shepard told them about. They lay her down on a bed and the Doctor examined Chell, no cuts bruises that were visible. Chakwas turned to Tali, "Get Shepard now!" she said Tali ran out of the room quickly.

Dr Chakwas saw the scars that Chell had on her arms, they were small and few that weren't everywhere. She had two on her left on her shoulder bending like the curves she had drawn in her sketch and three on the other side on her wrist elbow and shoulder. Interested Dr Chakwas moved Chell's shirt up a bit and saw everything on the young woman. She didn't know how these happened but the scars and bruises were big enough to have killed anyone!

Alex entered the room with Tali and saw the scars on her body saying one word only. "Ouch!" he noticed them all staring at him. "What? I've seen those before. She got some of them from bar fights" He answered.

"A person in a bar did this much damage commander?" Chakwas asked daring him to answer.

"Well...only if you flirt with a guy and kick him in the nuts in front of his girlfriend and mates and happen to be her" he retorted.

"How is this helping?" Tali bluntly asked.

"It isn't, look this has happened to her before. Chell has what you might call hallucination memories or Hypnagogia except instead of think it's a vision she hears voices. She'll just sleep it off" Alex assured them.

"You let her on a ship and this could happen!" Tali who was rather outraged screamed at him.

"She doesn't usually let it happen!" Alex calmly said back. "She usually can control it, sometimes though it gets out of hand. It rarely happens she'll be fine" He looked at Chell and sighed. "First time she did it was after we came home from a restaurant and were celebrating that she was adopted into our family, hold off questions and yes she is my little sister" he waved at Tali and the doctor. "Scared the living crap out of us! But she'll be fine she always is" he said. "I bet you both five hundred credits she will by tomorrow she will be running around" he said.

She slept for four days straight before getting back up and Tali along with Dr Chakwas won over a thousand credits together, sat down and had a long conversation on why Chell was so odd.


	10. Chapter 10 Back to running

Kaiden watched as Chell practised by running up and down the shuttle bay and jumping over various crates she had put in her way to create a obstacle corse. She didn't even looked puffed and she had run it over thirty times, how come she was so fast and graceful but yet hadn't missed a beat? He didn't know and he didn't even hear Garrus come up behind him.

"See something you like Alenko?" Garrus asked. He followed Kaiden's gaze to Chell. "Uh, that's what the stare is about then" he bluntly said.

"Huh-what did you say?" he caused Garrus to laugh.

"You've been watching her since she woke up from the comatose state, and if it isn't staring it's talking to. You can't say no one has noticed what's going on with you? If Shepard finds out that you are falling in love with her, he will blow a gasket" Garrus told him.

"I don't...I am not... this is...shut up!" Kaiden snapped storming off leaving the turian barking with laughter.

He sat down and kept watching Chell who stopped running and looked at him. "The turian not giving you a good time?" she asked.

"Uh..I hate this ship officially!" He joked. "I just get so frustrated with them sometimes!" he exclaimed. Kaiden looked at her and Chell sat next to him and shook her head. "It's like having to deal with losing something isn't it?" she asked.

"I just feel like these missions aren't...they don't work well and make me feel guilty so I don't want to deal with them. And I get angry at people for just believing they can afford to be reckless like Garrus is on missions" He had completely changed the topic. Chell had known that feeling she felt it everyday she woke up and went to bed.

"So you want to run away?" Chell asked.

There was a long pause before he said, "Sometimes."

"I don't get like this, never when I run do I get like this," she said abruptly leaning back against the walls of the deck. "I don't know what to say. What can I say? I don't… I never get like this."

"What do you get like then?" Kaiden asked her truly wanting an answer.

She met his gaze. "I get angry," she answered flatly. "I get angry and then I get even. They! Three! Maia! everyone! They all take something from me, I try to take something from them. I don't get sad or sorry. I get angry. The problem is that sometimes I get so angry that I forget what I was angry about and then I can't get even. I'm just angry and that's suddenly all I've got. When I don't have that I'm too busy trying to forgive so I forget"

"But I could never forget," he replied dryly. "I remember what happens when I get mad and lose control. But what can I do?"

She looked at her battered armour. "I don't know why you are asking me these questions," she said flatly. "You have nothing to gain from asking _me_. I have nothing I could give, even if I wanted to. I've got nothing. Even when Alex had biotics going on, I didn't have anything to stop him from losing it"

"But do you want to?"

She stared into space; the focus of her vision was her own right foot splayed out against the ground. "Sometimes. Sometimes I wish I could take it all back. Right now… I wish I could. But what can I do? Go back and stop myself from leaving the facility? I don't take that back, that's my guilt sentence and my freedom! I am not giving that up for anyone ever!" She promised herself.

He looked at her and she smiled at him "And neither should you give up despite them making you want to give up, they can't make you and they sure as all hell can't stop you running. I do every say and no one has yet, Why should they stop you?"

* * *

Chell finished her workout and headed up to see Alex who was pouring over maps. "Hey Alex" she greeted.

He didn't look up and she could see the stress on his face, she knew it wasn't the time to joke with him. Especially not since Akuze, his blue eyes finally reached hers and he lightly smiled. Akuze had placed a gap between them but they patched it up as quick as they could. Only scars remain to leave a memory. Ones that should be left in the past and shouldn't come into light despite he closure needed in them.

He half smirked again and she noticed the rings around his eyes. "You need sleep" she said. He shook his head in annoyance "I can't sleep until this is done" he stubbornly said.

she pointed behind her to the elevator. "Yet there is the elevator and upstairs is a warm double bed with pillows, I suggest you take the offer before I do" she said. Alex sighed gathering the maps and they went into his quarters, Chell placed the maps on his desk and sat on the couch. Alex leaned back and joined her.

He stated their conversation. "I am so..."

"Lost?" she offered to him.

"Fucked, more likely. Why is it, when I come to see you I'm either in trouble or getting lied to?" he crossed his arms and looked at her for an explanation.

She shrugged and only offered. "Because the truth bites" Chell said.

"I thought honestly was a virtue you liked?" Alex asked her.

"Lying is a virtue. One of the only ones I like using when necessary" Chell answered.

Alex looked at her laughing, Chell faced him and was confused, "What? It is!" she stomped her foot. He gasped for breath and she wacked him on the stomach trying to get him to breathe. "No it's just you always counter what I say. All the damn time!" he said.

"It's called being your sister. Where are we stopping at now?" Chell asked.

"We are heading back to the Citidel" Alex said pointing at the star maps co-ordinates.

"Didn't we just leave it though? Why are we going back?" she asked crossing her arms demanding an explanation.

"We are picking up someone who can help find Three" she bit her lip and Alex kept going, "she's a friend Chelly. Liara the asari I mentioned is valuable to the team and will do everything to help that she possibly can. And I promise you she won't try to go after him" he added.

"If anyone goes after Three, it's me. He's my enemy not theirs" she said.

"And yet he found it kind enough to shoot at me" Alex joked.

"Well, we both are trained psychopaths, bent on ending each others existence and making sure no loose ends are left" She joked.


	11. Chapter 11 Blood noses

_"_How did this even happen?" Alex asked while Chell held her nose with the tissues and black of ice, blood was coming out swiftly and she sounded like she had a cold.

"It wasn't my fault they started it!" She said waiting for the blood to stop.

"Well if you started from the beginning…" she cut him off. Alex fake sighed and tried the joke again.

"I was starting to when you rudely interrupted" she glared at him.

"Sorry" he apologised. "Can you please tell me what happened?" Alex tried again.

"Well it started like this…" she started her tale.

* * *

Three hours earlier.

In a million years Chell never imagined that she'd actually hate coming home. Chell usually knew the right choice wasn't always the easy one. She thought if anything she needed to study. First thing after leaving was going to the Citidel library, she looked among the old books and pulled a random one open. "Okay..yad dah da da da. Not helpful" she chucked the book up and grabbed another one. None of this was useful!

Harson would know what to do. When she served as his assistant he knew exactly what she needed to do. Harson. Her eyes flew open. She grabbed her omni-tool and searched up Harson, his work everything until the day he died. It said it was still in the apartment under storage. She grabbed out her old contact ID and headed back to the old apartment she used to live in.

The door guard looked at her as she held up ID. "Haven't seen you here in years" he said gruffly.

"I haven't been able to be seen" she responded taking back her ID and taking an elevator up to the apartment floor. Chell breathed deep trying to calm herself down. She should call Alex. He would like to know. Chell however didn't call him. He didn't have to know where she was. Chell placed her hand on the handle and slowly opened it.

"Please don't let there be Three in there" she whispered to herself. "Please, not today."

She pushed the door open. Everything still looked the same but had a small layer of dust everywhere. And the...she shivered, blood the blood she caused was gone. Three cleaned up real nice and had left the research alone.

Chell kept a sidearm on her if she got attacked. It hid under her jacket despite being attached to her hip. Chell moved forward and slowly turned on one of the computers downloading everything that was on there. While it downloaded she went and collected all her old stuff that she used to own, cramming it into a small back pack. She really needed to buy more things, Chell grabbed the small bag and heaved it onto her back and went in search of her long-lost friend.

Hob. Hob happened to be switched off and on the floor of the laundry in the dryer. She found him by checking the most ridiculous places and tried turning him on to discover he was out of power and needed to recharge Then again she thought the battery was only supposed to last twenty years and she was twenty-four nearly. She had a spare battery already packed up. Chell carried the small floating droid with her into the main room. Her omni-tool beeped. Download complete. Chell grabbed Hob and cleaned the computers disks of everything. They were completely blank.

She heard thumping and banging. Also some shouting, it was getting close to the apartment.

Chell placed her jacket over Hob and hid in the joint on kitchen. Baterians entered. Slavers really? Why was she always dealing with this. Chell felt for her pistol grabbing it. It only had stun charges though!

Chell got up and shot one of them. The other commando rolled behind a desk opening fire, Chell lost her gun quickly. She ducked behind a counter and closed her eyes concentrating on that enemy along.

Chell opened one of the draws pulling out whatever she could. Plates. Okay she could deal with that if she had to. Chell picked one up and started throwing it at the direction. She heard it shatter and grabbed another throwing it again. She didn't hear the third Baterian enter the room and grab a knife, it drew closer to her but Chell didn't notice it being too preoccupied throwing plates.

It grabbed her shoulder and stabbed it into her hip. Chell cried in pain and reached for a cupboard pulling out a saucepan and hitting the Baterian in the head just as he smashed her face against the floor, he fell back unconscious. Chell gripped her side in pain and stood up limping to Hob, she ripped out the old battery and shoved in the new one. He turned online and Chell sighed falling back over onto the floor.

"Hob defend me!" she begged. The little bot came to life and Chell enabled him to zap the last slaver. He flew around the Baterian's head. Chell saw her eye sight get bloodshot as her eyes pulsed with it. She was tired. Really tired, wasn't she awake with adrenaline a minute ago.

Chell passed out and her hands were covered in blood. She started shaking her head moaning in pain and thought she heard sirens.

* * *

Light returned to Chell's eyes. She tried getting up but someone pushed her back down. "Move and Shepard will kill me" A voice said.

"Alenko you should know by now only two things about him scare me. When he knows where I sleep and when he shows up when I am drunk!" she tried to be humorous.

"Where am I?" She asked sitting up a little.

"C-Sec apartment, they want to find out what happened and were going to call Joker to get a hold of Shepard but I was closer and we all know Shepard would kill you for getting into a fight like that" he joked sitting down next to her.

Chell laughed a little. She felt something hurt on her face. "I think that bastard broke my nose" she said. Chell grabbed it and cracked it back into place. "No just dislocated it" she corrected.

"You're strange. Anyway your bag is under the bed. And on further note, why were you there anyway?" he asked amused.

"I…remembered something about Harson's work. He did a project on advanced technology formed in electronic warfare material I saw some of that tech when I was fighting Three and decided to follow it up" Chell explained.

"And you went alone?" he demanded. Blue aura filled his eyes. Damn biotics! Easy to tell if you pissed one off.

Chell didn't scare away from the blue light surrounding him. "Pretty lights" she mumbled to herself. "And yes I did. I didn't think anyone needed to be involved. My damn fight, I don't need anyone dying over what I can do!" she said.

"No one-" he got cut off.

"Everyone does that once in their life. Even when they want someone to listen to them to go away! They do something reckless. People need to learn to let go of the past and move on" Chell stood up before falling over again. "Shit! What did they put in me?" she demanded a bit fiercer than she would have like. She clutched her hip where she had been stabbed. Blood still remained and the wound hadn't been bandaged but closed over, still leaving an ugly mark.

"Sedative, supposed to keep you out for hours. Some reason they don't work as well on you" He noted.

"I hate sleeping" she said. "Can you get me a cloth or wet towel? I need this cleaned up; running around in blood won't do much good for anyone. Especially for Alex's sakes" she said.

Kaiden went over to a sink wetting a nearby cloth and passed it to her she nodded gratefully. She lifted her shirt a little and revealed her cut, scared and bruised stomach. "Ouch!" he saw the marks.

"They are worse on my back. I need to get them removed next time I go to the doctors" she said.

"They suit you" he told her absent-minded.

"What?" she looked at him startled. "Why would you think that?" Chell asked.

"Because they bring out the better side in you and show how good of a soldier you are. Make you better than anyone else" he explained and she laughed.

"If I was so good, they wouldn't be there" she said.

* * *

"I still don't see how this gets you a blood nose if you got stabbed?" Alex questioned.

"I am getting to that!" Chell said impatiently.

"Commander we are approaching planet side" Joker alerted.

Alex stood up and went to the comm. "Ramirez, Alenko and Garrus suit up, we are at Mutare time to get answers"


	12. Chapter 12 Oh Waiter?

Chell sat in the Mako and was checking over her weapon. They didn't bring armor for the sake of not wanting to be shot on sight and wanting to blend in. "So how did the blood nose occur?" Alex asked her again.

Chell sighed and looked around for help from Garrus who shrugged. "I'm interested in this as well Chell" He said.

"Okay I'll continue from where we left off. Okay so I just got out of the C-Sec apartment and..."

* * *

_Hour after last flashback..._

Chell grabbed her bag and headed back to the Normandy docking bay. She dumped the bag in one of the lockers there that was hired out for the crew when they wanted something but not carry it around. She checked her omni-tool, no new messages. Then followed up the slavers attack, why would they carry guns that heavily into a hotel? Something wasn't right. She checked over the insignia on their clothing again.

"That looks like Cerberus. But different, where is this from?" She went over to Apollo café and sat down at a seat looking through gang files she had picked up from C-Sec.

"No. no. Dead end. Busted. Doesn't exist. What?" She looked over the files again.

This was going to be harder than she originally thought, she pulled out Hob and adjusted him online. "Hob can you give me a scan on this symbol?" She asked.

Hob adjust himself and didn't bother hanging around the air and sat on the table "I believe it the Hyperion Project insignia miss" He said.

"Hyperion? Can you give me a copy on everything you have on it in your databanks and give me a map on Mutare to where to facility is" She ordered gently rewiring him. Probably dangerous but she didn't care.

"Affirmitive downloading now," Hob said.

Chell smiled and truly felt happy for the first time when it came to facing the Proteus facility. Chell looked around her surroundings finding out what was happening. A salarian was handing a plate of food out to a turian who was being rude.

"You call this food! Does this filth look like food to you!? No it's slop that should be fed to animals like you!" The turian said.

"Well if it's only fit for animals you must be one for ordering it" The salarian let slip.

The turian stood up to make a threat. Chell got up and stood in between the two.

"Hey if you are going to fight please do not start it here," she firmly said.

"Puny human! Like you know anything you second-rate scum!" The turian said. Great she was attacked by slavers and now had a turian with a racism problem what else could happen today.

"Hey! Sit down I am sure the waiter can get you a different meal if you want" She said.

"I'll give him a second meal alright!" The salarian picked up the meal about to throw it but Chell grabbed it first.

"I'll get it. Why don't you go speak to you boss about the customer having the problem, that way no one gets hurt" She felt her patience slipping if there was such a thing for the two species.

What followed next wasn't happy. The turian punched the salarian and Chell grabbed the plate and smashed it down on his head, food went everywhere. In response the two started fighting each other, Chell grabbed the turian in a headlock and the salarian went to attack him her grip loosened and she slammed her feet into the salarians feet making him fall over. The turian escaped the headlock, grabbing Chell by her hair and smashing her face into the table. "What's with people doing that today!?" She demanded when he dropped her.

A few other people had gotten involved in the fight, dragging the turian and salarian away. Chell stood up hazily and made her way to the Normandy for a bandage, her nose had started bleeding again. Alex saw her face covered in blood. "Hey Chell what happened to you?" he asked running over to her.

* * *

"And here we are known at present events after I got stabbed and broken noses more than once and put back in place properly with no marks behind more than once all in one day. Well it's been real, fairytale stories next week on the Normandy chat show. Any questions?" Chell asked joking.

They all seemed to be catching up to what she said. "Wait you smashed a place over his head and then put him in a headlock?" Alex asked. Chell rolled her eyes.

"Men!" She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Anyway when we get to Mutare, be careful. The place is filled with thugs." She said.

They landed in the outskirts of the desert city. Chell made sure they weren't looking like they were carrying things valuable enough to be pickpocketed from then.

"Remember, be careful" she warned.


	13. Chapter 13 Sorry for the trouble

**Sorry to announce this story is going on hold for a while.. I have a severe case of writers block and have wanted to get some other stories off my mind. I will probably be back in two months with the rest of the story but until then, I hope you all have a good time reading :D**

**Mystrigirl**


	14. Chapter 14 Okay now I can't anymore

**Okay this story is now fully abandoned because I lost the inspiration I once had for it. My grandfather died recently and he encouraged this story as he loved games and I can't think this story straight through without him. Sorry all you readers who enjoyed this, but I just can't finish it anymore. I can give you the last chapter if you want seeing as I wrote it to see where I ended up as a joke for my grandfather he said it was sad but smiled for it but I like it anyway because he did. Sorry once again, you never know I just might come back for it **

** Now if you want the last chapter send in a review or PM me for it.**

**Mystigirl**


	15. Chapter 15 Figure myself out

**A/N: Sometimes, you just need to move on. So I started this story for my big sister who died at birth, now I'm going to finish it for my grandfather who died a few months ago. A review would be great, also who do you think should be Chell's LI if she has one? Thankyou for staying with this story for so long. I hope to write more soon.**

The Illusive man watched the footage again, she still hadn't changed a bit. The copy was still the same as Jayde. Stubborn and determined to get what she wanted done, he missed that about her.

They hadn't found the facility, he wouldn't let them as he destroyed any evidence of it being there a while after she left. The Illusive man knew this would drive the copy insane with frustration at the thought of not knowing what to do.

Good, it would save him the trouble of having to stop her in her tracks with Agent Three.

* * *

Chell chucked her pistol in her locker. "Argh!" She groaned hitting against it.

"Chell that's not helping" Alex watched her.

"We're out of leads Alex! I can't remember anything else except that damn facility! You don't get it, if I can't remember or find anything out then Three wins! Maia wins! They all win" She slumped down to the floor. "I can't let that happen ever, they'll do the testing to someone else and they will go through the same thing I did. I can't stop being responsible for that"

Alex sat down next to her. "How long have you being free from that facility?" He asked her.

"Since I was seventeen" Chell responded.

"And how much have you changed? A lot Chelly, you're not a subject anymore. You don't let them win because your proving your human. Don't ever change that!" Alex said.

Chell sighed. "I think I just need time. Hey when do we stop at the Citadel next? I know a great sushi restaurant" She cheered up a little.

"You hate seafood" Alex pointed out.

"Yeah but they make a great pita bread roll" She smiled a little. "So you and the gunnery chief?" She nudged him.

"Don't ask she's a little mad at me right now" Alex said.

"Hey who isn't at the moment? Cerberus, the Reapers, Baterians, Three and his goons, and I think your girlfriend is scarier than them so yeah, your stuffed big brother" Chell joked.

"Ball of sunshine aren't you?" Alex stood up yanking her up in the process.

"No I'm just not a thick moron looking on the downside"


	16. Chapter 16 argh sorry! Kinda help me!

temporary break, I accidently wiped my hard drive and deleted all future chapters of Runaway. Don't worry I will return soon. In the mean time I have a question. Do you think Chell should have a love interest and if so who? No offense but please not Garrus, he's really only seem as a big brother in this.


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